This post was first published as ‘Black, red and green: Whitstable fisherman’s huts in June 2013. It’s a beautiful place to visit for the last bank holiday of the year, even if you can’t stay in a hut. And looking back on this post I am also reminded of what turned out to be a happy turning point of sorts for me. A trip to the seaside really is the best cure…

Oh, it’s been one helluva year. The best cure? Always a trip to the seaside. This time it was Whitstable, and a stay in a converted fisherman’s hut. Wow. First, the colour combinations. I wouldn’t have associated red, black and green with the seaside, but it was everywhere.

Right on the beach, these huts are just gorgeous. Recently done up inside, the first floor bedroom was, we both agreed, the nicest room we’d ever been in. It was the light, and the view of the sea, like sleeping in a boat. You can hear the clanging of the beached boats and the swish of the sea all night.

Of course, the inevitable happened, and talk turned to how to get our hands on one of these beach-front beauties for ourselves (no chance, btw). Just next door is this. Run down, ramshakle and empty. Stag Cottage is subject to ongoing ownership confusion I think. Why else would it stand empty on this otherwise chi-chi seafront? Still, imagine it.

All that (broken) glass. Imagine the light…